09-30-2026 Ride

Woke up and got ready for a bike ride with John. I ended up leaving a little bit late, so I rode through the neighborhood, turned left on Matinal Rd, and took W Bernardo Dr to RB Rd. From there it was the normal way, including riding to the end of Briarleaf Way. Jayden and Vivian saw us off (Jayden and John had to race before we left). We headed back down the hill to Poway Rd, turned right, and rode up to Community Rd. Another right turn there, then we rode up the hill to Stowe Dr. I put my bike in its lowest gear and just chugged up, not pushing too hard. We took a left on Stowe Dr and rode up to Danielson St, turning left there. Up to Scripps-Poway Pkwy, turning left. I thought we were going to ride up the Purple Monster climb, but we turned off and took Sycamore Canyon Rd down the hill to Garden Rd. Back to Poway Rd, turning left and taking it to Midland Rd, where we turned right and rode to Aubrey St. Used it to get back to Community Rd, taking this back to Poway Rd and turning right. We then took a right on Tarascan Dr and started climbing. It got quite steep for a short distance after we turned left on Tuscarora Dr. Up to Cree Dr, where we turned left and then right on Papago Dr. This got us to Carriage Rd, where we turned right and followed it as it turned into Palisades Dr. This got us to Silverset St, which we passed as the street turned into Arbolitos Dr. This road turned into Celestial Rd, we turned right on Ring Rd and then left on McFeron Rd, which turned and dropped us onto Pomerado Rd. A left turn there got us going back to Scripps-Poway Pkwy, where we turned right. Again, I just put it in low gear and rode up the hill out of the saddle for much of the little climb. Back to John's house the normal way from there, again riding to the top of Briarleaf Way. Vivian made smoothies for us and gave me a dragon fruit. We talked about their fruit trees and vines and some about camping, both our recent trip and Vivian's previous experiences with camping in the desert. After the conversation I rode home the normal way via Bernardo Center Dr. Felt better on the last part of the ride than I had the previous week. For a route that John claimed had a lot of climbing, it really wasn't that much, just a couple of stretches that we had to negotiate.

Avg speed = 15.5 mph (15.6 mph). Total mileage = 38.9 mi

Avg power = 132 W. Weighted avg power = 161 W

Total elevation gain = 2080' (2200')

Avg heartrate = 114 (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 42 (46)

Training Load = 151 (156)

Intensity = 73% (75%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20396431483

Got home and had a little time to get ready for my volunteer shift at the hospital. I'd shaved earlier in the morning, so I showered and took some food with me. Ate lunch at the hospital, then started my shift. There were a couple of new staff there: Reuben (nurse, kinda clueless), Mackenzie (rotating nurse), and Francis (new med tech). I had some stretches of being pretty busy and some other lagging stretches, so it was kinda normal. Left on time (I'd gotten there a little early) and rode home. In the evening I watched some TV and read as well. I finished The Great Math War and have started Alastair Reynold's Halcyon Years, a mystery that takes place on a generational spaceship.

09-29-2026 Run

Slept okay, getting up in the night to pee and then waking up around 4:00 to peep again. I dozed off and on until 6:00,then got up and went for a four-mile run, basically and out-and-back heading north initially. I stretched a little more than usual, and that helped. Not a fast pace except for the last mile. It was cool, but the exertion had me sweating at the end.

Avg pace = 8:37/mi

Total distance = 4.01 mi

Elapsed moving time = 34:36

Avg heartrate = 124 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 9

https://www.strava.com/activities/20387576261

I cooled down after I got back, Ann was still asleep. Did some more staging of stuff to pack into the car while she was sleeping, and I got the camping bins out as well. After she got up I got my stuff out of the tent and deflated the air mattress. Packed that up while she was making breakfast, then we ate French toast and had coffee along with it. Finished taking everything down and putting it by the car, then I loaded the stuff in while she cleaned the dishes and packed the blue bin. We left a little after 9:15 and avoided any traffic on the way home, a big relief. We unpacked the car and stowed the camping gear, we're basically done by 10:30.i watched a little TV in the late morning, then I finished the music file clean-up job I've been working on for several days. Also researched places to stay on our last bikepacking trip night, in Huntington Beach. In the afternoon I took a nap and worked on figuring out why I am having problems with my chain skipping on my Fuji. I think I traced it to a faulty QuickLink, so I replaced it, will see if that works. After dinner Ann and I watched TV. I read a fair amount in the afternoon and evening as well before turning in.

09-28-2026 Ride

Slept pretty well for a first night camping, having also had a late afternoon nap. I woke up after 4:00 and had a pee, then I got back to sleep after a bit, slept until around 7:00, which is unusual (<>). We got up, and I made breakfast (eggs and leftover grilled food, coffee, and leftover apple tart). I cleaned the dishes, and Ann dried and put them away. After that, I got ready for a bike ride. Earlier in the morning I had used Strava to make me a route from the beach to the restaurant where we were meeting Pat for lunch. For some obscure reason the route took me into the hills of San Clemente, including about 600' of climbing. I initially rode through the park to get to Avenida del President, turning left and riding to Avenida Mendocino, crossing over the freeway to ECR, turning left and heading to Avenida San Gabriel. The climbing started in earnest here and didn't let up for a while. Left turn on Avenida Salvador, climbing still. I got to the top and couldn't figure out where Strava wanted me to turn in the neighborhood, so I wandered around a couple of streets until starting the descent on Avenida Salvador to Avenida Presidio. Am pretty sure I rode this way with Pat before. That descent is thrilling, quite steep. I was unfamiliar enough with it that I kept braking to avoid taking too much speed into the turns. Turned left at the bottom of the hill on Avenida Pico and followed it to Calle Deschecha. That led me to the protected bike path running parallel to ECR. I was on my aero bars on this stretch, battling a quartering head wind. Then I rode through the parking lot by Doheny State Beach and on the nice streets through Doheny SP. I used Dana Point Harbor Dr to get to Golden Lantern St, climbed the short, steep hill to Del Prado Ave and turned left there, rode through downtown Dana Point and got on PCH. It's a little wavy here, so I alternated between climbing on the steeper sections and riding in aero position whenever possible. Strava wasn't so clear on where to turn, so I I initially missed the turn and ended up backtracking to get on Crown Valley Pkwy. More climbing here, nothing steep but some distance to it. Took this road up to Alicia Pkwy and turned left there. Some more gentle climbing and another missed turn, this time to get on the Aliso Creek Bikeway. This is a paved path with lots of curves, not super smooth either. Still, I rode in aero position when possible. I got off the path at Laguna Hills Dr, another little climb before a nice descent to Paseo de Valencia, where I turned right and rode downhill to the restaurant. Got there with some time to spare, so I rode to a nearby 7-Eleven and bought a Super Big Gulp to help cool down and rehydrate. Paula had borrowed my power pedals, so I used my MTB pedals and shoes instead no power data below.

Avg speed = 14.1 mph (14.3 mph). Total mileage = 24.5 mi

Avg power = 130 W (est.)

Total elevation gain =  1610' (1660')

Avg heartrate = 124 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 47 (49)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20368313241

Ann showed up a little early, which allowed me to change before we headed into the restaurant, Heaven on a Fork. Pat was already there. It was fun catching up with him. He told us about his Grand Teton hike, which had 7000' of climbing and some sections where ropes, belays, and rappelling were required. Has been dealing with hip and knee issues, no surgery indicated as yet. We caught him up on our travels as well as Laura's wedding plans. After lunch we saw Pat's ride, a red Corvette. I thought he was kidding when I pointed it out and he said it was his. Crazy! So there is more to hear about the next time we get together, likely in December. Drove back to the campsite and chilled in the shade for a while. In late afternoon we walked down to the beach and headed north for a while before turning around and walking back. Tide was low but coming in. Showered after we got back, that felt refreshing. We snacked for dinner after the big lunch. Walked down to see the sunset, but there weren't clouds in the sky except right on the horizon. Anticlimactic. I put some of the camping gear up, including the vestibule and the solar lights (didn't put them up this time). The rest of the evening was quiet.

09-27-2026 Swim

Slept for about 7 hours, not waking up, then I dozed in bed for a while before getting up a little after 5:00. I had some cereal for breakfast, then shaved. I next packed most of the camping gear in the car. After that was done I looked at places to stay in Malibu during our bikepacking trip. I selected a place and made a reservation for it, as well as two hotel rooms in Carpinteria. I also looked at some potential places for lunch on Monday with Pat and sent a list to Ann for her consideration. Did some music file work, then got ready for a swim at the WWC. There were only two people in the pool initially, others joined during my workout. I intended to swim 2000 yds in 500 yd intervals but got a little mixed up. Here is the workout I did:

500 at tempo pace, swimming faster in the second 250

    9:13

500 with swim pads, working on arm and shoulder strength

    9:14

500 with no swim aids

    9:38

450 with pull buoy, intended it to be a 500 but forgot to turn my watch on for the first 200

    8:34

250 with no swim aids, tired arms and inefficient stroke as a result

    4:53

I definitely need more longer workouts, arms were quite tired by the end. Because I forgot to restart my watch I only recorded 2000 yds on Strava.

Avg pace = 1:53/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 2200 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 41:20 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 140 bpm (perhaps)

Relative Effort = 44 (maybe)

SWOLF = 37

Avg stroke rate = 22 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.31 yds (was much lower later in the workout)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20355353816

Got home and watched some TV while having a little more to eat. Did some music file work in the late morning and early afternoon, had a light lunch. I also watched a little TV. Finished packing my stuff and loaded it in the car, then loaded the food and some other bags in as well. The back of the car was pretty full. I put my bike on the roof bike rack, and we left home around 1:00. Ran into a little traffic on the way, slowing but not stopping. We got to San Clemente SB around 2:00. Ann helped set up the tent, so it went more quickly. We were done with camp set-up by about 3:00, relaxed for a while, including a nap (I was tired) before starting the grill around 5:30. Grilled food for dinner was tasty, but I was feeling a little out of sorts, can't explain exactly why. After dinner I cleaned the dishes, and Ann prepared a Dutch oven dessert with apples and puff pastry. She managed the baking as well. It was tasty. After that we secured the campsite and got in the tent. Even with the nap I didn't read that long before getting to sleep.

09-26-2026 Ride

This Bisikleta ride had its frustrations. I slept okay, woke up around 6:00. Emptied the dishwasher and got ready for the ride. I left home around 6:40, took thestraight-shot route over to the 4S Target and got there early enough to grab a coffee from Starbucks. Others started showing up, Jed was last of course. On this ride at the start we had Ray, Jed, Paula, Nel, and James. We got on CdS and took it east to CdN. We followed it to Bernardo Center Dr and turned right. Oh, Ray had forgotten his water bottles, so he left early to pick them up from his house. Jed had leer us know that his tire was going flat (!), so they stopped at the bottom of the hill while I rode ahead to let Ray know. We stopped and waited for the others. And waited. Finally I called Paula to find out the situation, and she told me Jed was heading back after failing to fix his tire. Oy! They caught up, and we rode up to the turn onto Black Mountain Rd. We waited there and saw James bombing down the hill on CVR. Another Oy! I sent James a note to meet us later, and we continued to Oviedo St, turning right and taking it to Twin Trails Dr, turning left and riding to CMR, where we turned right. Another right on Entreken Way, taking it to its end and then using a bike/pedestrian path to get to Torrey Park Ter. This got us to Torrey Gardens Pl, where a left turn took us to Torrey Meadows Dr and thus to CdS. We headed to the bike path and stopped there to find out where James was. He was far enough back that I decided for us to keep riding. Down the bike path to its end, then we took CVR to the coast and headed north. I pushed the pace a little bit here, had some cyclists ahead that I  tried to catch up to and pass. Waited for the others after the light, then we rode through Del Mar, Solana Beach, and Cardiff to get to Chesterfield Dr. Nel and Ray peeled off to use the restroom, and Paula and I took a pic. Then we all too San Elijo Ave north to Santa Fe Dr, turning right and climbing, initially on a steep gradient, almost all the way to El Camino Real. Ray got to the intersection next after me, and we waited for the others to show. Then the four of us headed south on ECR. For some reason my Wahoo kept rerouting on this segment, until we turned left on Manchester Ave and rode up, then down to RSF Rd. Then it was the climbs on La Bajada and La Granada into RSF. I dropped the others on the climbs, it was getting warm by this time, sun was fully out. Paula was significantly behind us, so we waited for her to catch up, then took La Granada to VdSF and El Apajo. I figured that we were on track to get back to Target by 11:00,so I stayed with them and took a modest pace up Three Witches. Ray wasn't too far behind me. We waited for Nel and Paula to make the turn onto CdS, then we took the straight shot back. I stayed for just a bit, James came rolling in just a coue of minutes after us. Rode home the short way through the neighborhood, to have plenty of time to get ready to go to Joe's birthday party at Jim Seaton's house in El Cajon.

Avg speed = 15.5 mph (15.6 mph). Total mileage = 47.1 mi

Avg power = 133 W. Weighted avg power = 167 W

Total elevation gain = 2760' (2790')

Avg heartrate = 127 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 96 (98)

Training Load = 207 (199)

Intensity = 76% (78%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20341567069

We left the house around 11:45. Thankfully, no traffic on the way, even though the Miramar Air Show was going on. Got there, and we were among the first guests to arrive. There weren't many church folks there, MaryAnne showed up later, and that was about it. Lindsey and Jaime were down for the party, other family of Jim's and the Swobodas. It was casual, food was meh for me, but we had some nice conversations. Jim has a pool, the water was chilly but refreshing. We left in the late afternoon and drove home. I was still hungry, so I had some snacks for dinner. After dinner I went out in the garage and organized the camping gear, checking it off the list. That took a while. I watched some TV later, then went to bed.

09-25-2026 Run/Swim

Slept pretty well, although I woke up a little before 4:00. Read for a while and then got back to sleep. Got out of bed around 6:00 and dressed for a 5k run down by the park. I stretched a little bit before the run and had negative splits on the three miles. Just past the first mile I was in the road by the parking lot and a truck was approaching. I jumped the curb to get out of its way and ended up tripping, losing my balance. Luckily no bloody scrapes, it was more embarrassing than anything else. No pain on the run, so a nice start to the day.

Avg pace = 8:21/mi

Total distance = 3.15 mi

Elapsed moving time = 26:18

Avg heartrate = 126 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 8

https://www.strava.com/activities/20324142496

I cooled off after getting home, then spent some more time on updating my music files before getting ready for a swim at the WWC. It was a beautiful morning, not a cloud in the sky, when I rode over there. I met Avi, and he and I got adjacent lanes. I did some interval training, here are the workout details.

500 at tempo pace, particularly in the second half

    9:13 (almost at 1:50/100 pace)

Strength-building 250 with swim pads

    4:29

Three 100s with each successive 25 faster than the last, on 2:00 intervals

    1:42

    1:42

    1:40

Two 100s with alternating single arms, tap-to-touch, and standard stroke, no pull buoy

    2:02

    2:03

Cooldown 350, with swim fins

    5:59

I again forgot to start my watch, and several 25s weren't recorded because my watch arm wasn't moving. So my Strava workout only recorded 1250 of the 1600 total yards.

Avg pace = 1:43/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1600 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 28:50 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 140 bpm (perhaps)

Relative Effort = 38 (maybe)

SWOLF = 38

Avg stroke rate = 19 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.49 yds (influenced by laps with swim fins)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20325835201

Got home and had some toast and yogurt for breakfast while watching a little TV. Then I did a little more music file clean-up before showering and getting ready to meet Hongwei for lunch. Rode over to the new site and met her around noon. We walked down to the RB Deli, which is quaint but not that full-featured. Sandwich was decent, a little over-priced. We talked a lot about Audrey (last year at Princeton) and Lilian (first year at UCLA). Hongwei is an empty-nester now, I don't think it's hit her yet. It was nice catching up with her. Then we walked back, and I rode home from there. Read some in the afternoon and continued working on music files. Had a little nap in there as well. In the evening I talked to Ross and then Mom. Both were in good spirits. Ann and I watched TV later. Read for a bit before sleep (<!>).

09-24-2026 Ride

Woke up around 5:00, got out of bed around 6:00 and got ready for a ride from home with Paula. I emptied the dishwasher and got dressed for the ride. She showed up around 6:45, and she put her gear on the bike while I finished getting my bike ready. She was using my power pedals for the first time, noticed the larger Q factor. We rode down by the park and then up Pomerado Rd to Bernardo Trails Dr, turning there. From here for quite a while, we were either climbing or descending, and some of the climbs were really steep, none of them steep and long. Left on Polvera Dr following it as it turned into Polvera Ave. This is a nice road through a fancy neighborhood, lots of ups and downs. It eventually brought us back to Bernardo Trails Dr, where we turned and took a steep climb up to Aceituno St. A little more climbing before a nice descent through misty fog, where I startled a lady walking in the middle of the street as I was barreling down a descent. Got on Avenida Maribella, which took us to Camino Ramillette, turning left and then left again on Paseo del Verano. We followed this down by the winery and then used the sidewalk path to get over to Old Winery Rd. Up to Valle Verde Rd, turning there for some more climbing before a descent led us to a left turn on Starmont Way. I hadn't been on this street either. We turned left on Saint Andrews Dr, which had some more significant climbing. It turned into Boca Raton Ln, then into Tam O Shanter Dr. We stayed on this road, which had another short steep climb, until we descended to a turn onto Goodeve Dr. This road took us out of the Valle Verde neighborhood. We turned left on Espola Rd and rode up to Old Coach Rd. I didn't think this road allowed public access, but I was wrong. It descended first and then climbed for around two miles, eventually turning into Deer Valley Estates. We rode to the end of the road, stopped there for some pictures and a break, then retraced our way back to Espola Rd. This was a really cool road to ride on, albeit with lots of either descending or climbing. Back to Espola Rd, turning right and then taking a left on Orchard Bend Dr. Through this neighborhood to Rostrata Rd, where we turned right to get to Martincoit Rd. This is, of course, another short, steep climb, which we took up to Stone Canyon Rd, turning right there. The descent to Pomerado Rd was nice. We turned left and then right on Bernardo Heights Pkwy. My legs were tiring from all of the climbing by this time, but luckily the hard parts were over once we got to Paseo Lucido. We used it to get over to CdN, turning there and following the time trial route home from that point. Once we got to our house, there were only a few more feet needed to get past 2500', so we rode up Azucar Way to cross this threshold before turning around and returning. This was a short ride with serious elevation involved, I'm guessing as Paula planned.

Avg speed = 12.6 mph (12.8 mph). Total mileage = 24.0 mi

Avg power = 124 W. Weighted avg power = 162 W.

Total elevation gain = 2550' (2440')

Avg heartrate = 110 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 30 (33)

Training Load = 124 (118)

Intensity = 74% (76%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20316098865

Got home, made a minor adjustment to Paula's bike to minimize her chain rubbing against the front derailleur cage, then she drove home. Ann was leaving for the gym, so I had some toast and coffee while watched a little TV. Showered and rode over to the Apple building around 11:30 to meet Eric Sweet for lunch. His contract was ending, so he wouldn't be coming into RB for work any more. We walked to the other side of the street and ate at the Apple cafe next to B66. It was the first time for me eating there, and it's a nice vibe. Open only to people with Apple badges, unfortunately. He did most of the talking, primarily about his commute, desired work arrangement, and future plans. After lunch we did a long walk around the buildings by B8 before splitting up a little before 1:00. I was still a little hungry, so I ate some snacks when I got home, watched some TV too. After that I started tackling conversion of a list of WAV music files I had created for the Valentine's Day dance into files with details about the artist, album, and artwork. This is pretty slow going. No real nap on this day, which was good. I watched some TV in the afternoon and kept working on the music files, including after dinner. Then I read for a while before bed.

09-23-2026 Ride/Hike

Slept okay in the night, straight through to 5:00 after getting to bed later than usual. Then I dozed for a bit before getting up a little after 6:00 and getting ready for a ride with John. I left the house a little after 6:40 and took the standard route there, arriving early enough to do the extra bit on Briarleaf Way and Dapple Way. Jayden was out when I got there, and Vivian came out as well to see us off. I'd planned the route, and it was going to have more climbing than usual. We headed over to Springbrook Dr and up to Angelique St, turning left on Candy Rose Way and taking it up to Cypress Canyon Park Dr. John was taking his time on the climbs, and I waited for him to catch up several times during the ride. We rode up to Spring Canyon Rd, turned right, and continued climbing until the gradual descent to Sunset Ridge Dr, where we turned left and rode down, then up Scripps Lake Dr, where we turned right. It was mostly down from there, on pretty bad roads, to Scripps Ranch Blvd, turning left there and staying on Carroll Canyon Rd (also poor road quality) until turning left on Black Mountain Rd. We stayed on this road through the turn and then turned right on Miramar Rd. To Camino Ruiz, turning right there, enjoying a short downhill until we turned left onto another stretch (not connected) of Carroll Canyon Rd. This new road has a nice gradual downhill, and it was fun to ride down to Camino Santa Fe. Right turn there, and a couple of fairly little climbs got us to Calle Cristobal, where we turned right and rode back over to Camino Ruiz. There wasn't too much of a climb here, but I still got ahead of John and waited for him at the turn. We rode to Capricorn Way, turned left there and used it to get back to Black Mountain Rd. Once again, the road quality on Capricorn Way was not good. We turned left on Black Mountain Rd and took it up to the 56 bike path. I put my bike in its lowest gear and chugged up this climb, put in a decent effort. The sun was out, briefly, as we turned on the 56 bike path, then it went behind the clouds and cooled down shortly after. We rode to Rancho Penasquitos Blvd, turned there, and took it to Poway Rd and then over to Sabre Springs Pkwy. Right turn there, following it to Springhurst Dr and climbing back to John's house via Alpine Ter. I had a gap on John, so I re-did the extra bit on Briarleaf Way and Dapple Way before getting back to his place. Vivian made smoothies for us, and we talked about several topics, including more details of her IVF experience with Jayden. John's neighbor Tim came over and chatted with us briefly as well. Then I rode home the normal way via W Bernardo Dr. I kinda ran out of gas just before the turn onto RB Rd, felt like I had burned through my energy reserves. So I slow-pedaled the rest of the way home

Avg speed = 15.0 mph (15.0 mph). Total mileage = 42.7 mi

Avg power = 123 W. Weighted avg power = 155 W

Total elevation gain = 2690' (2750')

Avg heartrate = 112 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 45 (48)

Training Load = 162 (161)

Intensity = 70% (73%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20299988720

I had some food when I got home and immediately started feeling better. Had just a little time to relax before getting ready for my volunteer shift at the hospital. Had a quick shave and a shower, packed some fruit, then rode over there. I ate lunch in the cafeteria, made the mistake of buying a Clif bar at an exorbitant price. Won't do that again. The shift was unusually busy throughout, with just a few periods of down time. Lots of patients in the ED with psych issues on this day. After the shift I rode home, changed quickly, then met Emily in the gravel parking lot by the park for a hike. We hiked down the hill, across the pedestrian bridge, and then headed west for a bit before turning around at the 30-minute mark. Was a nice walk and conversation, we talked about shared traits of not wanting to be late and getting stressed about it, among other topics (our recent concert visits). Got back to the scooter and rode home after the hike, where Ann and I had dinner. I watched a little TV after dinner, then read for the rest of the evening before turning in.

09-22-2026 Ride

Slept okay, not great. I got up and got ready for a birthday ride with Jhonar and others. Rode through the neighborhood to Matinal Rd, turned left and took it to W Bernardo Dr, using that road to get to Poblado Rd. I took it up to Calenda Dr, where Jhonar's townhome is. I got there just a little before our scheduled meeting time of 7:00, and nobody was there. I checked to make sure I was at the right place and time, then the others started showing up. We had Andy, Nel, Cam, and Jhonar on this ride. We headed to Capilla Rd, took it up by Gideon's place, where we stopped while he came out and chatted with us for a bit. Then we rode up to Matinal Rd and used it to get to RB Rd. Andy had planned the route, which was straightforward. Over to CdS, taking it to CVR, and not scorching the pace, since Jhonar hadn't ridden in quite a while. We took CVR to the 56 bike path. By the highway entrance, and car pulled right in front of Cam, but he was able to avoid getting hit. Then we took the bike path to its end and then rode over to the other section of CVR, the one taking us to PCH. I was riding back with Andy and Jhonar, and he was complaining about how to suffer through these little climbs. We rode into Del Mar and stayed on PCH through Solana Beach, Cardiff, and into Encinitas. We stopped for breakfast (not just coffee and pastries) at the Encinitas Cafe. I had oatmeal, everybody seemed to enjoy their food, and we stayed there a while. Then we started heading back, following the standard route of VdlV to ECR to San Dieguito Rd. I was slow on the Three Witches climb, intentionally so, to keep from getting too far ahead of Andy and Jhonar. Then we rode back on CdS. Cam split off from us around Babcock St, near where he lives. Nel split from us by CdN, and the three of us left retraced our route back to Jhonar's house. I chatted with them a bit before riding down Poblado Rd to W Bernardo Dr and heading home that way. Not too tired after this ride, which was at an easy pace and not too much climbing other than Three Witches.

Avg speed = 14.1 mph (14.4 mph). Total mileage = 47.5 mi

Avg power = 102 W. Weighted avg power = 129 W

Total elevation gain = 2090' (2190')

Avg heartrate = 106 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 39 (40)

Training Load = 133 (130)

Intensity = 59% (59%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20286666544

This ride lasted a long time due to distance, speed, and the long break for breakfast. Ann was starting to get worried about me just as I got home. I had some lunch, avoided a nap, and did a little work on the music file clean-up. I'm basically done with the files other than the ones I copied for a recent Valentine's Dance playlist. Will have to go through them one by one and provide more details about each one. We drove downtown, leaving around 3:45, to park by the Midway, eat sandwiches for dinner at a nearby park, then walk to the Rady Shell to see Brandi Carlile. The opening act was CMAT. Her music is decent, very poppy, and she has a very good voice, perhaps a little shrill for my taste. But her stage presence was annoying to me, to over-the-top for my liking. Concert started promptly at 6:00, and Brandi's band came onstage around 7:15. They ended up playing until just before 10:00, was a great concert. She mixed some good personal stories in with her songs, played a lot of tunes from her latest album, which I'll have to listen to more now. Below is her setlist from the concert. It was crowded getting out of the Rady Shell, they do not have a good way of moving folks out of the seating area or away from the amphitheatre itself. Once we got onto the sidewalk along the waterfront our pace increased, and we didn't have any traffic to contend with on the drive home. The parking lot Ann found is nice that way. Home before 11:10, I read just a little before falling asleep.

Passacaglia for Violin and Cello in G Minor (Johan Halvorsen cover) (played by Sista Strings)

Returning to Myself

Human

Mainstream Kid

A War With Time

A Woman Oversees

Right on Time

Hard Way Home (audience request)

Dreams (audience request from Carly and Happy Birthday to Carly)

Every Time I Hear That Song (audience request)

You Without Me / The Mother

The Story

You and Me on the Rock

No One Knows Us

Church & State

Sinners, Saints and Fools

And So It Goes (Billy Joel cover)

The Joke

Encore:

Hold Out Your Hand

Islands in the Stream (Bee Gees cover) (with CMAT)

Uninvited (Alanis Morissette cover)

A Long Goodbye

09-21-2026 Swim

Slept reasonably well, woke up around 4:30 but was able to doze for a while after that (<!>). I was meeting Avi a little later than usual for a swim at the WWC, so I took some of the time to clean the kitchen and work on updating my music files. I got to the WWC a little early and was able to get a couple of adjacent lanes for us before Avi showed up. Here is the workout I did:

Warmup 250, intentionally trying to keep my pace slower

    4:45

Five 100s with each successive 25 faster than the last, on 2:00 intervals

    1:40

    1:43

    1:41

    1:41

    1:36

Recovery 100

    1:51

Five 50s, on 1:05 intervals

    0:45

    0:45

    0:45

    0:46

    0:43

Cooldown 250, with swim pads

    4:20

I forgot a couple of times to restart my watch, so I only recorded 1000 yds of this workout on Zepp. I felt pretty good during the sprints, and my stroke actually seemed to hold up well.

Avg pace = 1:42/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1350 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 23:01 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 143 bpm (perhaps)

Relative Effort = 29 (maybe)

SWOLF = 38

Avg stroke rate = 21 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.42 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20271480923

Got home and was hungry after only having eaten a banana before the swim. I had some toast, coffee, and an orange for breakfast while I watched TV. Then I continued working on the music files for a bit before heading to the garage to take a look at Paula's bike and her chain-drop issue. I looked at my shop manual for some guidance on front derailleur set-up, and her set-up looked pretty good to me. I did make a very minor adjustment to the inner position of the derailleur, not sure if it will make the issue less common for her. I also measured her chain wear, and it is still just fine. The rest of the day was pretty quiet. Ann went to Mah-Jongg in the afternoon, I hung around the house and did some more work on the music files. Ann and I watched some TV after dinner, that was about it for the day.

09-20-2026 Run/Swim

Sleep was strangely intermittent. I had some trouble getting to sleep, woke up around 4:00 and read and dozed until getting up a little after 6:00. Got ready for a run at easy pace, stretched before, no discomfort in my legs during or after. Down to and around the park for the standard 5k route. Was faster on the last mile, the first two were slow. Interestingly, as I was running down to the park, I am pretty sure I saw a small lynx running into the brush at the south end of the park. I hadn't seen that before.

Avg pace = 8:55/mi

Total distance = 3:15

Elapsed moving time = 28:09

Avg heartrate = 122 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 7

https://www.strava.com/activities/20255593728

Got home, had some time before my morning swim, so I did a little more work on the music files. Then I got ready for the swim and headed over to the WWC. I was the only one in the pool at first, but others joined. Swam 2000 yds, first and third 500s with no swimming aids, the second with swim pads, and the last with swim fins. Here are the times for the four 500s: 9:44, 9:33, 9:55, 8:53. My stroke length was shorter than usual without the swim aids, not sure why. More work needed to make my form more consistent, especially as I get tired.

Avg pace = 1:54/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 2000 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 38:05 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 163 bpm (too high)

Relative Effort = 95 (nope)

SWOLF = 37

Avg stroke rate = 19 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.53 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20258086265

Got home, was hungry, had some cereal for breakfast while I watched a little TV. I worked a little more on my music file updating, did some reading, and generally relaxed, including taking an early afternoon nap. Ann and I headed down to Normal Heights for the Adams Avenue Music Festival. I drove all over the neighborhoods to the south of Adams Ave but couldn't find a parking spot, or even a hint that cars were leaving to create spots. After 10-15 minutes of this we decided to go see Gregory Page in concert at Pilgrim UCC in Carlsbad instead. So we drove up to Carlsbad, got there a little early and chatted with Dick Jay for a while before the show started. The concert was decent, he is generally fun to listen to. He messed up on a couple of songs, but they were minor errors, and it was a forgiving audience.

 After the show we drove to Micheline's Pita House in Solana Beach for dinner. The veggie platter I had was delicious, I was hungry from not having eaten much during the day. Got home before 7:30, and the rest of the evening was quiet. I read for a while before getting to sleep.

09-19-2026 Ride

Slept somewhat fitfully, woke up around 1:00 and read for a while, got back to sleep and woke up again around 4:00, then dozed off and on until after 5:30 or so. I got up, cleaned the kitchen, and got ready for the Bisikleta ride, expecting that it would be a low turnout. I rode through the neighborhood, then took the new extended route through the 4S Ranch neighborhood. I got to the 4S Target early, but James was already there. His flight from Portugal had gotten in the previous evening at 10:00, and he didn't sleep well, so he rode over early. I thought it would be just the two of us, but Jed showed up around 7:20. We left just before 7:30 and headed out CdS. Got to just before San Dieguito Rd and saw a text from Kamal asking where everybody was. So we all stopped and waited for him to catch up, then we rode up to CVR, turning right there. Jed and I waited at the turn for the others, then we rode down to Solterra Vista Pkwy, turning left and taking it under the 56 and then back up to the turnoff to the 56 bike path. We then followed the 56 bike path all the way to its end, turning left and taking the other bike path to Sorrento Valley Rd. We followed this road, which is in terrible shape by the way (I shouldn't include it in any future rides), over to Sorrento Valley Blvd, going under the freeway there and then getting onto the bike path that runs parallel to I-5 on the west side. We rode up to the turn onto Genesee Ave, Jed and I were out front. On this ride Jed pretty much stayed with me on all of the climbs, although he definitely went into the red zone for heartrate a couple of times. We took Genesee Ave west and turned right onto John Jay Hopkins Dr. We followed it to Cray Ct, which is essentially a throughway linking several parking lots, then turned left on Science Park Rd, which got us to Torrey Pines Rd. Up to the top, then the thrilling descent to the beach before we climbed into Del Mar. I was taking it at moderate pace and Jed was right there, even when I pushed the pace toward the end to finish strong. I overshot the place where we stopped for coffee, so we had to backtrack a little bit to get there. While we were there Aaron showed up, he'd caught up with us and knew where we were because of James' live tracking. Kamal split from us before we went to the coffee shop, he needed to get back home earlier, so we never had all five riders together. After the break we rode north to Lomas Santa Fe, turned right there, and climbed the short, steep hill before turning right on Stevens Ave. Then it was a nice descent to VdlV, James leading here, and turning left on that road. We followed it further into RSF than usual, riding up to Via de Santa Fe and turning there to get to El Apajo and thus to the bottom of the Three Witches climb. Aaron turned right and gave us more than a three-minute head start before trying to catch us. I told Jed I wasn't going to go all out, but he stayed with me anyway, and he was working hard, and successfully, to keep up on the last climb. Felt okay on this climb, it was starting to warm up, especially on that last bit. We were able to stay ahead of Aaron, who ended up setting a PR (including Bisikleta rider PR) for this segment. It was impressive. We gathered at the top, then rode back CdS to PdS and took it through the Del Sur neighborhood, turning left on Templeton St to get back to the Target parking lot. James took the originally planned route and arrived a little later. I hung out with the other riders for a bit before heading back home. All four of us rode to the meet-up point, so no cars were involved on this day. I rode home the new normal way, not super fast but also not at easy pace. Legs felt fairly strong throughout, no soreness or tightness during or after the ride.

Avg speed = 16.4 mph (16.5 mph). Total mileage = 49.6 mi

Avg power = 139 W. Weighted avg power = 172 W

Total elevation gain = 2900' (2890')

Avg heartrate = 126 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 93 (100)

Training Load = 218 (208)

Intensity = 78% (79%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20244857638

Got home, Ann was downtown at the Jacobs Music Center on a tour, so I watched a little football and ate lightly before stopping to catch up on blogging. I talked to Ben for a while as well. Paula came over in the afternoon and left her bike for me to try and adjust the front derailleur to keep it from dropping the chain so frequently. I also installed my power meter pedals on her bike and synced them with her Wahoo, so she can get a feel for the relationship between effort, heartrate, and power output. I then continued to update my music files with the right album covers, am maybe a quarter of the way through. Watched some TV in the late afternoon, then after dinner Ann and I watched some TV together. The rest of the evening was quiet, a little more work on the music files. (<>)

09-18-2026 Swim

Slept until a little after 3:00, then I had to read for a while to get back to sleep, waking up again around 5:30. I read some more, went downstairs and emptied the dishwasher, and watched a little TV before getting ready for a swim at the WWC. I originally intended to swim four 250s, but I ended up swimming two 250s, a 200 (I miscounted my laps and had forgotten to restart my watch), then another two 250s, the last one with a pull buoy. Here are the times: 4:43, 4:29 (with swim pads), 3:41, 4:30, 4:34. Avi was there as well, he swam with me for a while, but we weren't synchronized like usual. The pool was full, we were fortunate to get two adjoining lanes. I think the swim pads can help with both my strength as well as my hand entry into the water to start my catch. Would like to increase their use, but I am wary of causing shoulder pain.

Avg pace = 1:50/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1200 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 21:57 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 125 bpm (maybe)

Relative Effort = 9 (seems a little low)

SWOLF = 36

Avg stroke rate = 20 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.47 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20228724189

Got home and had some cereal for breakfast, I was hungry. It was an uneventful morning. I watched a little TV, then in the early afternoon I rode to Macy's and picked up a new white dress shirt ordered online. I read some in the afternoon after I got home, also started a monumental task of making sure my digital music files are linked properly to the right album art. This is going to take a while. I also ordered a new motorcycle helmet, let's hope this one fits us both. And in the late afternoon I went out in the back yard and cleaned up the gravel path. Watched some TV after that, Ann was napping, uncharacteristically. Evening was quiet. I continued my task of updating music files with correct album art, making modest progress.

09-17-2026 Ride

I slept pretty well, waking up a little after 5:00. But I dozed and got back into a light sleep, waking up again around 6:05 and then having to rush to get ready for a bike ride to meet Paula by Harmony Grove Community Park. I mistakenly thought we were supposed to meet at 7:00, so I was late to start. That caused me to push the pace more than usual on the ride over. I also took the freeway, since that's a faster route. Rode up Via Rancho Pkwy to Felicita Rd and took it to Hamilton Ln, where I turned and rode up to Continental Ln, turning there and then using Calle Catalina to get to the top of Gamble Ln. Over to Scenic Trails Way, taking it to Citracado Pkwy and heading down the hill to Harmony Grove Village Pkwy. As I turned left on Harmony Grove Rd and started riding I gradually came to the realization that our meet-up time was supposed to be 7:15. I kept on riding, probably rode about two more miles before I saw Paula coming from the other direction. I stopped and waited for her, then we rode back towards Harmony Grove Community Park, our original intended meeting place. At the top of a rise by the Elfin Forest Preserve, I stopped and loaded up the route, intent on avoiding the mistakes in following our map from the previous week. We rode back to the park and\ stopped there as well to review the route before continuing on. We stayed on Harmony Grove Rd up to its end at Kauana Loa Dr, using that to get to Citracado Pkwy, then over to Andreasen Dr. We followed it through the industrial part of Escondido, not so scenic and kinda rough road conditions. Over to Mission Ave, where we turned right and took it all the way into east Escondido. It was less traffic after we got past Broadway, but the bike lane was okay until then, so all was generally good. No bike lane past there, so we had to watch out for passing cars. Took it all the way up past Midway Dr until we turned left on Paula St. We stopped at an intersection there to take a picture of Paula standing by the street sign. Then we continued over to Lincoln Ave, turning right there and then right again on El Norte Pkwy. We stopped for another pic by the Escondido Creek Trail before continuing on past Valley Pkwy, where the street changed names to Hidden Trails Rd. Paula hadn't been on this road, which has a short, steep climb that gets up to 10% gradient. We took this road all the way to its end, where there was a fire access road that led us down to the neighborhood to the south, on Hidden View Ln. This was a nice little descent to Hidden Estate Ln, where we turned right and followed it to Reed Rd, taking another right. This got us over to Citrus Ave, where there was morning traffic to contend with. A left turn there, then a right on Glenridge Rd, taking us past Orange Glen HS. Over to BVP, where we turned right and rode to Oak Hill Dr, taking a left there. I had been on this road before, used to use it on my rides to yoga at church on Tuesday nights. But it had been a while. We rode up to Rose St, turning left and then right on Kingston Dr. A little climb here brought us to Paul St, where we stopped again and got some pictures of me by the street sign. We then continued up Paul St, turned right on Kenora St and then left on McLain St to get over to Boyle Ave. We turned left here as well, were very close to the Guy's house at this point before we turned right on Destree Rd and took it to Birch Ave. A left turn here took us back to BVP, where we turned right and rode over to Eldorado Dr, another street that Paula hadn't been on. We rode over to Juniper St, more morning traffic to contend with, turning left and then right on Vermont Ave. This got us to Escondido Blvd. My original planned route had us turning left here, but I wanted to shorten the ride and lessen the climbing challenge, so we turned right and rode to Felicita Ave, turning left there. We took this road over to Gamble Ln, turned there and rode to Bernardo Ave. Another right turn got us onto the usual route I have followed in the past to get to the meet-up spot, and we stayed on this route to the park, where we stopped and split up. I was happy we didn't get lost on this ride, with its many turns and unfamiliar streets. I rode home the normal way via Citracado Pkwy and Gamble Ln. On the Gamble Ln descent I rode down without braking at all, and it was both exhilarating and a little scary. One false move and it would not have ended well. I felt much stronger on the return portion of this ride than the previous week. It was 18 degrees cooler, and I was also a little more prepared.

Avg speed = 14.9 mph (15.0 mph). Total mileage = 40.7 mi

Avg power = 120 W. Weighted avg power = 151 W

Total elevation gain = 2210' (2250')

Avg heartrate = 115 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 45 (46)

Training Load = 151 (146)

Intensity = 69% (70%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20215966497

Got home, and I was hungry. I had only eaten a part of a banana on the ride, on the return portion after splitting off from Paula. Ate some cereal and felt a little refreshed. I had a little time to relax, then I showered and cleaned the kitchen before riding over to Los Panchos to have lunch with Earl. I miscalculated my travel time and was a couple of minutes late to meeting him, but no big deal. We chatted about the Barona Powwow, Kelly and Jason settling in to their changed circumstances, and Earl's upcoming intended efforts to declutter his life (good luck to him). As usual it was a good conversation, not as weighty as others but still interesting and convivial. Got home and watched a little TV in the afternoon before meeting a guy from a fence company, who walked the property with me to get an idea of what we want to do so he can send us a quote for the work. Rest of the afternoon was pretty quiet, I did avoid taking a nap. I watched some TV before dinner, then read for a while after cleaning the kitchen. In the evening we drove down to the Sharp Rees Stealy imaging center in Kearny Mesa for me to get a CAT scan of my heart, according to Dr Strouse's instructions. I'm hoping the results are tolerable for future quality of life. Ann drove us home, and it was a quiet rest of the evening.

I finished Bowl of Heaven and started Gregory Benford's Timescape.

09-16-2026 Ride

Woke up in the night and read until I could get back to sleep. Then I woke up, had some breakfast, and got ready for a ride with John. I left early enough to take an easy pace over to his house, following the normal route. I had some time when I got close, took Alpine Way and up to the top before riding down to Dapple Ct and using it to get to Dapple Way. He was there by himself, but the others came out to wave us off. We rode to the top of Pomerado Rd (I went to the top of Angelique St), then rode down to Kearney Villa Rd, turning left there and taking it to Ruffin Rd. Followed that road to Balboa Ave, turning left there. This isn't a great road to use to cross the freeway, but we got through without incident. Then it was a gradual climb to Santo Rd, where we turned left and then took another left on Clairemont Mesa Blvd. Back toward Ruffin Rd, using Chesapeake Dr to cut the corner. From there we retraced our route back to his house. Vivian made us smoothies, and we chatted for a while before I started back home. I rode a little harder on the way home, taking the W Bernardo Dr route. Felt okay on this ride, legs were in decent shape even though I didn't push hard.

Avg speed = 15.9 mph (16.1 mph). Total mileage = 44.4 mi

Avg power = 135 W. Weighted avg power = 156 W

Total elevation gain = 2420' (2510')

Avg heartrate = 122 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 63 (64)

Training Load = 161 (167)

Intensity = 71% (74%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20203089898

Had a little time to relax when I got home. I was hungry even though I had eaten cereal for breakfast and had a banana on the ride. So I ate some peanut butter crackers and felt better. Showered (I'd shaved earlier), rested a bit, and then got ready for my volunteer shift at the hospital. It was uneventful, steadily busy but not overwhelming. I left a little early, to get home in time to change and head downtown to see Weird Al at the Rady Shell. We left the house at 4:45, and Ann drove us downtown through rush hour traffic. We ended up parking in a lot kinda close to the Midway. Ate some sandwiches and salad at a park overlooking the bay, then we walked down through Seaport Village to the Rady Shell. I thought the show started at 7:30, but it was actually 7:00. We got to our seats just before the opening act, Puddles Pity Party, came onstage. This opening act was eminently mediocre. It was a guy in traditional clown makeup singing (he had a decent voice) to a backing track, with periodic audience participation songs. The audience participation stuff was better than the rest but still forgettable. He wasn't on stage too long, thankfully. The main act, Weird Al Jankovic, was quite entertaining. He used video much more effectively, and he had some well staged set pieces based on both his parody and original songs. The place was quite full, possibly sold out, and the crowd was enthusiastic. My view was obstructed by the lady in front of me, who had a teased hairdo that was impossible to see over. So that was annoying, it forced me for the most part to watch the video screens, which detracted from the live performance aspect of the concert. Still, it was an enjoyable evening. We parked more than a mile away, so the walk back to the car after the concert took a while. But we didn't have to deal with any traffic on the way home, got there a little after 11:00.

09-15-2026 Ride

Slept fitfully again, woke up around 2:00 and need to read before I could get back to sleep. I still got enough sleep before waking up and getting ready for a coffee ride with Nel, Andy, and Perse. I rode through the neighborhood to W Bernardo Dr and then over to RB Town Center, where we met up. Then we took Bernardo Center Dr and Duenda Rd to W Bernardo Dr, then took Poblado Rd to Capilla Rd and through the neighborhood that way to RB Rd. From there it was the usual way to San Dieguito Rd, then down the hill to Little Hidden Bakery at El Apajo. We had coffee and a chocolate croissant, nice long conversation with wide-ranging topics. Perse had pushed the pace on the CdS bump, which bugged Andy a little. So on the way back we slowed it down and rode at Andy's pace. We retraced our route back to RB Rd and then took Matinal Rd down to Hada Dr and over to Duenda Rd. Back to RB Town Center, where I split up with the others and took the standard route home from there. Was a nice easy-paced ride with cooperative weather.

Avg speed = 14.0 mph (14.2 mph). Total mileage = 25.7 mi

Avg power =119 W. Weighted avg power = 142 W

Total elevation gain = 1900' (1890')

Avg heartrate = 114 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 28 (29)

Training Load = 90 (89)

Intensity = 65% (68%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20188729077

Ann was at the beach when I got home. After talking with Perse, I went up in the attic and took down my golf clubs. May go to the driving range and hit some balls for the first time in a long time. After that I went out in the front yard and trimmed some of the bushes. I scraped my arm on a branch, and it was bleeding quite a bit for a while. Finished up there, then I watched some TV and ate a light lunch. I read in the afternoon for a while. Did a little bit of clean-up on my cycling analysis code. I watched some TV and read after dinner on a quiet evening.

09-14-2026 Swim

Slept kinda poorly, likely because of the nap. I woke up in the night and ended up watching some TV before getting drowsy again and going back to sleep. I still woke up fairly early and lay in bed reading. Then I got up and got ready for a swim at the WWC. It was overcast and cool on the ride over, and so I was surprised to see so few people waiting to get in. It was just me and Cathy in the pool for about the first half of my workout, there were still open lanes when I got out. I did intervals, working on strengthening my shoulders and upper body.

Warmup 250

    4:31

Five 100s with each successive 25 faster than the last, on 2:00 intervals

    1:39

    1:38

    1:40

    1:41

    1:39

300 with swim pads

    5:24

Two 100s with alternating single arms, tap-to-touch, and standard stroke, with pull buoy

    2:00

    2:02

Cooldown 600

    5:36

As usual, my watch didn't count the laps I took where I wasn't rotating my right arm, so Zepp only recorded 1500 yds.

Avg pace = 1:48/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1550 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 27:50 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 128 bpm (maybe)

Relative Effort = 15 (seems a little low)

SWOLF = 38

Avg stroke rate = 21 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.32 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20172564074

Got home, had some coffee and toast, and scheduled my CT scan to test my arteries. Showered and then rode over to Elmisa Café to have lunch with Pat Harnett. We talked about our moms, his kids (Lauren, Emily, and Shane), and the EER process for him. He isn't done with work, so his future will include figuring out that next job. Was an interesting conversation as always. I headed home after that and had a quiet afternoon including taking a nap and watching some TV. In the evening I talked for an hour with Ross. He starts his new job in a week, I'm hoping it goes well. Also sounds like he's on the outs with Terri, whose life is crashing down around her. Rest of the evening was quiet (<!>).

09-13-2026 Run/Ride

Slept okay, did get up in the early morning and read before falling back to sleep. And I got up around 5:30, hung around the house for a bit before heading out for a run. I took an easy pace and ran the usual 5k route, nothing special to report. I did run negative splits, which was a plus.

Avg pace = 8:41/mi

Total distance = 3.17 mi

Elapsed moving time = 27:33

Avg heartrate = 123 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 6

https://www.strava.com/activities/20158728831

Got home and cooled down before getting ready for a bike ride. I left a little before 7:30,headed down by the park and then up Pomerado Rd to RB Rd. From there I followed the time trial route. Didn't have a real strong push in my legs and cardio, so I focused on steady effort, and that seemed to work. Also, I found a couple of coins on the road, second day in a row that I picked up money. 😊

Avg speed = 16.4 mph (16.6 mph). Total mileage = 19.6 mi

Avg power = 153 W. Weighted avg power = 176 W

Total elevation gain = 1040' (1060')

Avg heartrate = 125 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 27 (26)

Training Load = 80 (86)

Intensity = 80% (82%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20160488819

Got home, showered, and had toast for breakfast before getting ready to ride to church for the 140th anniversary service. The ride over was uneventful, got there in time to sit by Ann, Emily, and Caleb. Service was bilingual, and that was generally a treat. I particularly liked Ruben's mini-sermon, it was humorous, meaningful, and uplifting. Didn't spend much time on the patio after the service, there really weren't many people I was looking to talk to, and Ann was putting the bells up. Rode home after that and watched some TV and, after that, football. Afternoon was quiet, I had a nap (I've been more tired recently) and am re-reading Bowl of Heaven, by Gregory Benford and Larry Niven. It's the first in a trilogy, not sure if I finished it the first time I picked it up. Ann and I watched some TV in the evening before turning in.

09-12-2026 Ride

Slept well, the best in a week. I did wake up early but got back to sleep. Got up around 6:15 and got ready for the Bisikleta ride. I rode through the neighborhood and then took the new extended route through the 4S Ranch neighborhood. Perse was there when I got there, and others started showing up. On this day we had the following riders: Perse, Ray, Jed, Fritz, Paula, Nel, and Cam. I'd planned the route, and we took CdS to RB Rd. We then followed it past the freeway and on Espola Rd up to Bridlewood Rd. We turned there, then Cam and I sprinted up the little climb. He rode strongly throughout the day. He and I rode on Summer Sage Rd to Lake Poway Rd, waited for the others there, then Fritz and I climbed up to the turn onto Riparian Rd. I waited to make sure everybody also made the turn, then we rode to Titan Way and used it to get back to Espola Rd. Up and then down the hill. Around this point I had a turn planned but got it mixed up, which caused Cam and Ray to be on the planned route while the rest of us rode further down the hill and turned right on Los Nietos Ave, taking it to Roberto Rio Rd, turning left and getting to Twin Peaks Rd. We rode to Tierra Bonita Rd and waited for Cam and Ray to catch up with us. We were all together again, riding down to Community Rd and turning there to ride to Metate Ln. It was Poway Days Parade day, and they were lining the floats up on Pomerado Rd. We were able to get through and take Pomerado Rd south. On the climb Ray, Fritz, and Cam rode out ahead, but I kept to my pace and high cadence, picking them off one by one. Cam had gotten ahead quite far, but I caught and passed him near the top. We waited for the others to get to the top before continuing the climb past the light at a shallower gradient. Then it was a gradual downhill to the right turn on Blue Cypress Dr. This is a really nice descent, with a sharp right turn at the bottom onto Cypress Canyon Rd. This took us to the top of Angelique St, and we had another fast descent, to Scripps-Poway Pkwy. Left turn there, some gradual climbing and the steady descent down toward the freeway. We stopped for a break at a Sinclair station, then continued down to the bike path running along the east side of I-15. Around here Jed and Fritz got behind us, for reasons I couldn't figure out. The rest of us took the bike path to Poway Rd, riding up to Sabre Springs Pkwy and turning left. We rode to Evening Creek Dr and turned left there. Then another left turn, on Sabre Hills Dr, and up the short steep climb. Cam and I both pushed hard to the top. Turns out that Jed lives in the subdivision at the top of this climb. Looped around and back down to Evening Creek Dr, then back toward Sabre Springs Pkwy. I turned into the parking lot by the Park n Ride and got us onto the sidewalk to make it to the beginning of the 56 bike path. We ended up taking the bike path all the way to CVR, paying attention to the numerous dicey intersections that we crossed. Started back on CVR, seemed that the pace decreased a little bit here. We rode back to CdS, and I waited after the turn for Paula to catch up while the others kept going. Paula and I rode back via PdS, stopping after the turn for a pic. Back to Target via Templeton St. It was heating up and already muggy, so I didn't stay too long. Rode home the new normal way, and Nel followed me, since he had ridden from home as well. We split at Camino San Bernardo, and I took it fairly easy on the rest of the way home.

Avg speed = 15.7 mph (15.8 mph). Total mileage = 50.3 mi

Bisikleta route avg speed = 16.0 mph

Avg power = 140 W. Weighted avg power = 168 W

Total elevation gain = 3100' (3210')

Avg heartrate = 125 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 87 (90)

Training Load = 229 (216)

Intensity = 76% (78%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20148235385

Had some lunch and watched college football for a while after I got home. Rest of the afternoon was quiet. I rested and read for a while. In the late afternoon we drove to church for the 140th anniversary dinner. Was fun seeing some folks I hadn't seen in a while, including YAMs, whose table we sat at. Food from Olive Garden was meh, as expected, some of the pictures in the slide show brought back good memories. We were home before 8:00, which was another plus, so I watched some TV before going to bed.

09-11-2026 Swim

Slept okay but not as long as usual due to the late previous night. I got ready for a swim with Avi at the WWC. Temperature was really nice on the way over and during the swim, although the pool water was a little too warm. My focus was on swimming distance without pausing. I ended up swimming 2000 yds for the first time in a while, the last 450 yds with a pull buoy. Here are the splits for the four 500s: 9:33, 9:56, 10:03, 9:19. My form was generally okay, but my stroke length was definitely shorter than usual, especially when I was breathing every three strokes. Avi was in and out of the pool switching lanes, pausing, but I just kept swimming at my slower pace. Not so much strength in my arms on this day.

Avg pace = 1:57/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 2000 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 38:51 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 159 bpm (too high to be believed)

Relative Effort = 80 (nope)

SWOLF = 38

Avg stroke rate = 22 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.25 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20132526154

Got home, had some cereal for breakfast, then watched a little TV. We then met Ed and Susan at Ali Baba for lunch. It was great to get caught up with each other on travels, family, and church topics. They were down in San Diego to test drive a Slate truck, which I understand they are going to buy. We drove home after lunch, and I had a little nap. Been more tired than usual lately. I then watched some TV in the late afternoon. In the evening we drove to Escondido to see a free outdoor concert at the CCAE. The opening act was The Lonesome Roses, and they were excellent, as usual, although Rheanna's guitar sounded strange at times, and her playing wasn't perfect. The main act was a band, Daring Greatly, that neither one of us had heard of. However, they had a pretty rabid group of fans show up, most of them middle-aged. We sat next to two big fans, Russ and Glenda, who have followed this band around. Russ told me that there is a connection between a couple of the band members and two of the female singers from the band, Twilight Highway, that we had seen on Thursday. Small music world in San Diego, apparently. We also saw Jeff Berkley wandering around before the show, and his name got mentioned during the concert as well.

09-10-2026 Swim

Slept okay, although I did wake up in the night and read for a bit (<!>). Got out of bed around 6:30 and did a little computer work. No rush on this day, as I was meeting Avi later than usual for a swim. We met up at the WWC at 8:45, had to wait for a bit until a lane opened, as it was quite busy and stayed that way through our swim. We did some intervals after a warmup 500. Here are the times:

Warmup 500

    9:09

Three 100s with alternating single arms, tap-to-touch, and standard stroke, with pull buoy

    1:58

    2:02

    2:06

Three 100s with each successive 25 faster than the last

    1:38

    1:40

    1:42

Cooldown 250

    4:39

I forgot to stop my watch during one of the recovery periods, so the Strava time is off. Also, distance is less because it didn't count two of my three 25s when I was alternating arms.

Avg pace = 1:51/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1350 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 24:54 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 136 bpm (maybe these numbers are right)

Relative Effort = 31 (perhaps)

SWOLF = 40

Avg stroke rate = 20 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.37 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20118946379

This workout felt pretty good, although I was gassed at the end of the fast 100s. Nice water temperature and outside temperature as well. I got gas for the scooter before I rode home. Ann had talked to the guy at the credit union who offers premier banking services, and it should be a good deal for us. I'd shaved the night before, so after showering I was ready for my volunteer shift at the hospital, moved to Thursday because of the previous day's Four Amigos Lunch. Ate a healthier lunch there than usual. It was noticeably busier at the start than usual, same staff with whom I have worked. A guy came in with heatstroke, and he got a lot of attention for quite a while. We don't see a lot of truly emergent cases come in, this was one. I left a little late, had to wheel an ornery old guy to his car by the main lobby. Still got home before 5:00. After dinner Ann drove us down to the Belly Up in Solana Beach for a concert. It was the first time at this venue for both of us. It was Jesse Ray Smith and Cassie B, with Twilight Highway as the opening act. They were forgettable. Cassie B did a set where she mostly sang her original music. It's not really my style of music, but she has a big voice, and she knows how to use it. Jesse Ray Smith had the longest set, his music is more to my liking. He's got some weird body motions when he sings without his guitar, but his voice is strong and his songs are better. One of the guitarists and the bass player are from his Music by Eras group. Our seats were in the loft above the stage, decent (not great) viewing, but the sound was muddy, since it was directed at the audience in front of the stage. And we had, of course, a group of young people by us who were more interested in socializing than in the music. It got to be annoying as time passed, particularly in the last music set. By the end of the show we were the only ones in the loft, I guess we should have gone down to the floor but didn't. I drove home, taking care on the dark roads, got back before 11:15.

09-09-2026 Ride

This was not the greatest ride. I slept poorly, waking up in the night as well as tossing and turning while I tried to get back to sleep. I got up around 5:30 and had cereal and a banana for breakfast, then got ready to ride over and meet Paula for a bike ride. Left the house a little after 6:10, headlight and taillight flashing to give me more visibility. It was cool on this ride for about 20 minutes, that was all. Down by the park and then over the pedestrian bridge, using the bike path to get over to Via Rancho Pkwy. I took it up to Felicita Rd, climbing was challenging on this day. Then I rode on Felicita Rd up to Hamilton Ln, turned left and then took a right on Bernardo Ave. Up and then down past the gate, then up to 11th Ave. Down to Del Dios Rd, taking a left and then a right on Avenida del Diablo. To Citracado Pkwy, taking it to Harmony Grove Village Rd and then down to Harmony Grove Rd. I took it over to the park where we were supposed to meet and kept riding for a little less than a mile before I met Paula riding the other way. She stopped, and I turned around to ride with her. We rode back to the park, where I stopped and, for some weird reason, couldn't load the route I'd made in Strava the previous evening on my Wahoo. It didn't show up on the list of possible routes, and I couldn't find my routes on Strava either. In retrospect, I think Strava was having a hiccup at the time. Paula eventually sent me an earlier version of the route, which I was able to load on my Wahoo. We continued, and of course the first thing I did was make a wrong turn (first of many routing miscues on my part on this day). I turned on Riding Trail Dr, then took Starry Night Dr, Trail Blazer Ln, and Trail Ridge Dr to get to Country Club Dr, which I should have taken in the first place. Turned left, then I almost missed my second left turn to stay on Country Club Dr. This road is in bad shape, we stayed on it for just a little bit until turning right on Kauana Loa Dr. Just a little more climbing, then a nice little winding descent to Citracado Pkwy. We were riding pretty much into the sun at this point, and my vision wasn't so great. We got over to Andreasen Dr and took it to Harmony Grove Rd, turning right and riding to the bike path, aka the Escondido Creek Trail, along the drainage canal. We followed this all the way to Quince St, including going under a road and having to navigate through a group of unhoused folks and their dogs. I inadvertently took us off the bike path a street early, wasn't reading my map on the Wahoo well. We rode over to Grand Ave and started heading east. At this point, the map really lost track of where we were supposed to go. It gave me indications to get back to Valley Pkwy and follow the Escondido Creek Trail. Maybe I just wasn't following it well. In any case, we took Escondido Blvd over to Valley Pkwy, then used the two-lane bike path there to get to Broadway, where we stopped for a picture, then turned left. Around Woodward Ave we got back on the Escondido Creek Trail, this time on the north side of the canal. The city has done a good job with the bike path here, it's well-paved, well-maintained, and landscaped nicely. But we were way off route, and Strava wasn't giving me clear directions (I wasn't paying enough attention as well) on how to get back. We ended up taking the bike path up to Rose St before getting off it and then riding back the way we came on Valley Pkwy. It was bad traffic and not a good road to ride a bike on. Strava routed us back to Date St, where we headed south. We stopped and tried to figure out where we were relative to the original planned route, and Paula eventually suggested taking 4th Ave to get to Juniper. Unfortunately, that road had a couple of steep little climbs and descents to navigate, but we successfully got to Juniper St. Took that all the way to Sunset Dr, with Strava regularly trying to reroute me away (maybe because it had an older version of the route?). In any case we finally got back on route, turning left on Sunset Dr and then right on Royal Crest Dr. This little climb is short and not too steep for long, then there is a really nice winding descent to BVP. We turned right at the intersection, then right again on Las Palmas Ave, which took us into the north part of Kit Carson Park. A right turn on Castaneda Dr led us through the park, to Park Dr and back to BVP. I was wearing out by this time, not much left in the tank. We rode to Via Rancho Pkwy, and Paula wanted to follow the original route, which had us doing the climb up Via Rancho Pkwy in morning traffic. I was a little concerned about this part of the ride, but there was generally enough bike lane to ride safely, albeit slowly. I rode behind Paula and just pushed the pedals to stay up with her. Up to the top, then down to Eucalyptus Ave, where we turned right, stopped for a short break, then continued on up this nasty little climb. It was only half a mile at 7%, but on tired legs on a hot and humid day it was a workout. This got us to Hamilton Ln, but again my Wahoo wasn't keeping up with my position. It had us continuing, but we made the right decision to turn left on Hamilton Ln and follow it up to Continental Ln, turning there and riding to Calle Catalina to get to the top of Gamble Ln. From there it was the normal way back to the park by Harmony Grove Village. I rode a little past the park before stopping and turning around. Paula still had the huge task of climbing back to her house, I'm not sure I could have done it in my condition. As it was, I turned around and retraced my route to the top of Gamble Ln, then rode down it to Bernardo Ave, turning right there and retracing my morning route back to I-15. I rode over the freeway, no push in my legs left, then slow-pedaled up the last two climbs to get home. I was wiped out at the end of this ride.

Avg speed = 13.6 mph (13.7 mph). Total mileage = 39.0 mi

Avg power = 113 W. Weighted avg power = 147 W

Total elevation gain = 2380' (2360')

Avg heartrate = 125 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 78 (80)

Training Load = 147 (144)

Intensity = 67% (68%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20105124148

Got home and drank a little soda and a lot of water to help me cool down. Then I had a shower, which also helped to cool me down. Late in the morning Ann and I drove to Stone Brewery to meet up with the Four Amigos and their spouses. Karen and kenda didn't make it. Food was good, service was terrible. It was a fun time, I talked mostly with Ross about his situation with Kenda and Alex, as well as their plans to split time between California and Florida. Ross paid for lunch. After the meeting we drove towards home, but Ann got notices saying our house was without power. It was 109 deg outside, so we headed to the mall to walk around and kill some time. I hadn't walked around the mall in a very long time, it's kinda depressing. We stayed there for about an hour and a half, then Ann got an update that our power was restored. So we drove home. I was exhausted from the morning as well as the poor sleep from the night before. Felt much better after a nap. I watched some TV in the late afternoon. Evening was quiet. The power went off a little before bedtime, while I was reading. Thankfully, it didn't stay off long, so we were able to sleep with the fan on.

09-08-2026 Ride

Maybe too much caffeine the previous day, I woke up around 1:30 and couldn't get back to sleep, so I got up and watched some TV. After that I was able to sleep, waking up around 6:20. Didn't have a lot of time to get ready for a coffee ride, so I gathered my stuff, prepped my bike, and rode over to Albertson's to meet up with the others. On this coffee ride we had Andy, Nel, Cam, and Cynthia (a rider whom Andy met from an RB retiree's cycling group). We headed north, taking the now normal neighborhood roads to avoid having to ride on Pomerado Rd as much as possible. Down to Pomerado Rd and then over Lake Hodges via the pedestrian bridge. We got to BVP, and Cynthia split up from us, as she didn't want to take the longer way to our coffee spot. Not sure which route she took. We kept on BVP up to Sunset Dr, turning there and riding up to Juniper St. On this stretch Cam, Nel, and I put in a bigger effort than usual, and we waited for Andy to catch up at the turn. We took Juniper St all the way to Grand Ave and turned left there, riding down to A Delight of France, which wasn't open yet. About five minutes later Cynthia showed up, so we were all back together. We got in when they opened at 8:00, had coffee and almond croissants, and sat indoors to enjoy the A/C. Chatted about 9/11 (25th anniversary coming this Friday) and COVID lockdown experiences, among other topics. It had been cloudy on the way over, humid but not too hot yet. When we rode back, the sun was out, so it was noticeably hotter but not yet uncomfortably hot. We rode down to Escondido Blvd and then took it to El Ku Ave to get to Kit Carson Park. Home the normal way through the mall and across the pedestrian bridge. Cam and I split off at W Bernardo Dr, while the others headed up Pomerado Rd. I got home around 9:30, pretty good timing for the expected heat coming during the day. 

Avg speed = 13.9 mph (14.2 mph). Total mileage = 19.2 mi

Avg power = 111 W. Weighted avg power = 143 W

Total elevation gain = 980' (980')

Avg heartrate = 110 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 19 (20)

Training Load = 68 (64)

Intensity = 65% (65%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20090321240

Also on a positive note, my brakes didn't squeal after I made the adjustments the previous day, and my shifting was also a lot smoother. So, new wheels are working well. With this knowledge, I switched back to my DT Swiss wheels, using the new rotors. I also swapped out the SPD MTB pedals on my Fuji bike after charging the Assioma pedals. We talked to Jeff Ross about our investments in late morning, made only minor changes. I had a quiet afternoon, read both books in progress, avoided napping. Later in the afternoon I used Claude's assistance to modify my cycling analysis code to display a route map and elevation profile that are linked to display position on the map, distance, and gradient simultaneously. It is actually pretty cool. I watched some TV while Ann was at bells.

09-07-2026 Ride

Slept okay, even with the previous day's naps. I woke up a little after 5:00, read for a while. Then I got up and ate some bread and cheese for breakfast. Then I received a text from Rob about meeting for a ride. I got ready and then rode over to his house the normal way. He was ready to ride, so we headed up to RB Rd and took it at measured pace to Dove Canyon Rd. Rob was slow but had been riding some, so he wasn't that slow. We rode over to CVR and took it up to Black Mountain Rd and then down the hill. Rob wanted to keep going straight, so we rode on to Rancho Santa Fe Farms Rd (not counting a false turn through a neighborhood) and took it over to the 56 bike path. Headed back to CdS, again at Rob's pace, not pushing it. We then took CdS all the way back to RB Rd, turned there, and rode to Mostra Coffee (Rob's preferred shop), where we stopped and had a nice conversation about recent activities and some work topics. We headed home after that, through the neighborhood. It was a nice little ride for me, I hope he enjoyed it as well.

Avg speed = 13.5 mph (13.7 mph). Total mileage = 22.9 mi

Avg power = 109 W. Weighted avg power = 134 W

Total elevation gain = 1460' (1500')

Avg heartrate = 107 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 19 (18)

Training Load = 68 (68)

Intensity = 61% (60%)

https://www.strava.com/activities/20076306805

Got home, read some more, then watched a little TV and had some toast as a second breakfast. In the late morning I went out in the garage and tried to readjust my rear brakes so they wouldn't squeal and wouldn't rub either. Made some adjustments, we'll see how they work out. If this doesn't work, I'll swap out the rear rotor with my older rotor that doesn't have as much wear. I also tried to change the rear derailleur Microadjust setting to optimize it more for this wheel. Settings shown below.

DT Swiss wheel rear derailleur Microadjust setting - 5

EliteWheels wheel rear derailleur Microadjust setting - 12

In the afternoon I looked through my paint cans to find the right one for painting the gate caps. I think it's the large Sherwin-Williams can with beige paint, the color seems to match. I also used Claude to modify the elevation profile display in the cycling analysis program to dynamically show the distance and gradient. With its help I got it to work, looks decent. After that I went out in the garage and painted the gate caps. Later I applied a second coat, should be enough after the two coats of primer, so my fingers are crossed that this paint will last and not flake off. Started reading Earl's book, it's pretty well written but dense with fantasy and alternate world elements from the start. After dinner Ann and I watched TV, and the rest of the evening was quiet (<!>).

09-06-2026 Swim

Slept all through the night, woke up a little after 5:00 and read for a bit before getting up around 6:00. I watched some TV and had breakfast. Eventually I got ready for a swim at the WWC. Headed over there in a very light drizzle, and it sprinkled on me while I waited for them to open the gate. I was a little surprised at how many people were there to swim, lanes were almost full before too long, but I got lane 3. Started with a warmup 500, and I could tell my legs were tired. So I focused on my stroke form. I followed this segment by a 300 using the swim pads, am going to include these more to try and strengthen my shoulders. I followed this segment with two 100s using alternating arms and tap-to-touch with a final normal 25, using the pull buoy. Then I finished with a 500 followed by an extra 150 for good measure, all with the pull buoy to reduce the strain on my sore legs. Here are the times for these segments:

Warmup 500

    9:32

300 with swim pads

    5:44

Two 100s with alternating single arms, tap-to-touch, and standard stroke, with pull buoy

    2:02

    2:00

500 with pull buoy

    9:20

150 with pull buoy

    2:54

I didn't record the second 100 on my watch, so my Strava workout only shows 1525 yds (it probably also didn't capture the 25 yds when I was windmilling the non-watch arm).

Avg pace = 1:55/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1650 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 31:32 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 127 bpm (maybe these numbers are right)

Relative Effort = 14 (perhaps)

SWOLF = 37

Avg stroke rate = 20 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.48 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20063738749

Got home, had coffee and toast while watching some more TV. I was weary and dozed during the TV show. In the early morning I had noticed a big leak spewing water out of a surface line, so I turned the sprinklers off. In the afternoon I had Ann turn the sprinkler on while I watched to see where the water was coming from, then I spliced fresh line in and buried it to reduce sun exposure, which causes the line to be brittle. Later on I pulled the caps from the metal front gate, since the paint was peeling from them. I scraped the paint off and then used wire mesh to remove the rest of the paint, then I primed all of the caps with primer paint, including a second coat on the top. Will let that dry and then paint them to match the rest of the gate, which as far as I can tell was last painted on 10-14-2024. Read for a bit after that task was done, then I talked to Mom in the early evening. She had a great time at Ben's house, stayed Friday night and went to Matthew and Lauren's house for a baby shower for Hannah on Sunday (?). Ben drove her home after the shower, she wanted to sleep in her own bed. Was a decent phone call, she didn't talk too much about her health issues. After dinner I tried to read, aiming to catch up on my latest book, Gregory Benford's Shadows of Eternity. I fell asleep early and then couldn't get back to sleep. So I got up and watched a little TV before retiring for the night.

09-05-2026 Grape Day 5k

Slept okay, had quite vivid dreams throughout the night. Woke up around 5:00 and laid around in bed until 6:00. Then I got up and got ready for the Grape Day 5k. Ate a banana and drank some water but didn't eat a big breakfast. I made sure I had the necessary items to take loaded on my scooter. I left a little before 7:00 and, after navigated around some blocked roads, was able to find a spot pretty close to the start. It was a very cool, not quite chilly ride over the bridge and into Escondido. I got to Grape Day Park and did some stretches to loosen my legs up. Then I met Caleb and chatted with him until it was time to line up. I got in the 6-8 min/mi group, and we were eventually able to move up to the start. The national anthem singer was not good, we were off right around 8:00. I started fast, pulled along by other fast runners. I think they shortened the course on Grand Ave, so it wasn't a full 5k. Nick agreed at the end of the race. Ran a sub-7 minute first mile and then put in a big effort on the second mile, which had some significant little climbs that really hurt. Came down 5th Ave after the climbs and didn't have a lot left. The rest of the course was flat, and I could see a couple of older runners ahead of me. I caught and passed one but didn't have enough of a push to catch the second one (he finished second in my age group). Tried to stretch it out on the last mile with only limited success. According to the time keepers I finished in 21:05, and I think the course was about 3 miles. So I averaged a little over 7 min/mi, which was my target pace. Felt pretty good about that, didn't know if it would be enough to place in my age group. I cooled down for a bit, had some chocolate milk, a granola bar, and an orange segment, then I saw Nick cross the finish line. I congratulated him, then we stood around until Caleb came across the line. Not too long after that they announced the people who placed in their age groups. My group was the fourth last to be announced, and I was happy with the third place finish. Another guy in my age group finished a second slower than me, so I just made it on the podium. Overall I placed 33rd out of 662 male runners, also a nice accomplishment.

Avg pace = 7:09/mi (Zepp)

Total distance = 2.97 mi

Elapsed moving time = 21:17 (official race time was 21:05)

Avg heartrate = 148 bpm (Zepp)

Relative Effort = 28

https://www.strava.com/activities/20048810159

After the race I rode over to Grand Ave and met Nick and Caleb at Burger Bench for brunch. In hindsight, this wasn't the best restaurant choice, it was jam-packed with runners. We waited a long time to place our order, then waited an even longer time for our breakfast burritos to arrive. They were decent enough, nothing special. We chatted about F1, the church's upcoming anniversary, our Houston trip, and some Escondido history from Nick (he grew up in this town). It was pleasant conversation for the most part. After the meal I rode home, temperature was ideal for riding on a scooter. Got home, Ann was still out, so I ate a little more and watched some TV. In the afternoon I rested but avoided taking a nap, was still energized from the morning run. I put my aero bars back on my Fuji bike, it went much more quickly than in times past. Caught up on blogging and watched some TV before we drove up in the late afternoon to Barona for a Native American celebration. The event was at the Barona Sports Complex, which is separate from the casino. It was hot when we got there but cooling down, we walked around the large number of booths selling mostly Native American arts and crafts. Then we went back to the car to get our camp chairs and set them up to watch the dancing. We got some food and ate it before the dances started, ended up moving our chairs to get a better view. We watched a number of gourd dances, which involved drumming, chanting, and stepping around the arena in time with the rhythm. There were some long-winded speakers interspersed with the dances that we had to listen to as well. Then there were some small drum and chanting circles that got brief spotlights before the big Native American procession in costume, which was quite impressive. There were some smaller processions around the arena after that, and we decided to leave around this point. Google Maps had us going back through Ramona, and the section of Wildcat Canyon Rd leading back to Ramona was winding and unlit, not easy to navigate in the dark. I made it, although there was a car tailgating me the entire time down to San Vicente Rd. We turned left there, let the car pass us, and then drove down to Warnock Rd, turning left and following it to Dye Rd and then to Highland Valley Rd. I don't know if I've ever gone down this road in the dark, but it helped to have ridden it many times, so I knew where the sharp curves were, for the most part. Home the normal way from there, arriving a little before 10:00. It had been a long day, and it wasn't long before I was in bed and asleep.